The European Commission has proposed a new form of global governance for the metaverse in order to keep it open and lawful. According to a leaked draft document, the Commission is looking to relax regulations to promote innovation and explore the potential of new digital cooperation models such as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Virtual worlds bring unprecedented opportunities in many societal areas, said the document, which is due to be published next week. This technological shift also involves new forms of global governance.
The Commission is aiming to create a technical multi-stakeholder governance process to address essential aspects of virtual worlds and Web4, and will carry out a study to identify legal, administrative, and economic barriers that prevent the uptake of these new models. It will also promote regulatory sandboxes to test out short-term projects under a lighter regime.
The document was promised by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in September of last year, and officials have said they want the metaverse to preserve EU values such as privacy and fundamental rights.
International engagement on topics such as technological standards, identity management, censorship, and surveillance is needed to ensure the next generation of the internet ‘is shaped as an open, secure space, respectful of EU values and rules,’ the document said.